Cloud Server Case Study: Timable - HK Event Listing Startup
Resolve any future problems with bandwidth, Cloud farm and monitoring
Background
Timable is a comprehensive portal on which users can search for information about all kinds of events and happenings in Hong Kong. Its search results are displayed in such an innovative and user-friendly way that it has been attracting a huge number of users since its launch. In 2012, Timable was invited by Yahoo to set up a dedicated Y! channel – it was a big leap forward for the rising star to grow into an even bigger online platform.
Challenges
Teaming up with Yahoo, one of the most popular websites in Hong Kong, marked a critical milestone for Timable’s business. With such a strategic move, it could, in no time, reach out to a broader target audience as well as uplifting its brand image. Nonetheless, there is no rose without a thorn. It had to face a big challenge while reaping benefits from this promising growth spurt. As soon as the project was kicked off, the surge of its data traffic was so sudden and outrageous that its server was completely overloaded. As a result, the user experience of the website was adversely impacted.
As in the cases of most startup companies, Timable is constrained by tight resources. In high hopes of saving costs and taking advantage of the flexibility in bandwidth usage, it once turned to a commonplace cloud hosting service provider who charged for a relatively low rate. However, when Timable encountered the aforementioned critical bandwidth issue, the site administrators found, to their dismay, that they could not even get into contact with the staff of the service provider, not to mention getting timely technical support! They could do nothing but passively wait for responses and witness the problem running its course. Although they eventually managed to get additional bandwidth as required, the customer service and technical support came into the scene way too late. It was a mental torture for each and every staff to see the golden time for rescue slipping away from their hands. The fact is that, in today’s dynamic Internet world, being adaptable to changes and responsive to problems is a matter of life-and-death especially for web-based companies like Timable. For the sake of fuelling its future development and fulfilling the commitment with Yahoo, Timable has to resort to a trustworthy hosting service provider who is capable of minimising the potential risks lying in its business.
Our Solutions
10G Bandwidth with UD’s Cloud Farm + Dedicated Technicians + Professional Service
Generally speaking, the hosting industry is full of short-sighted and passive practitioners who are busy selling canned services to customers with varying needs. The unspoken rule is that they will not square up to their subpar service levels and to fix the root problems at server and network ends until fatal errors pop up. Apparently, most clients willy-nilly accept such ill practices. Indeed, UDomain strongly recommends that clients stop settling for less when it comes to IT services. It holds true that it is best to identify and prevent problems as early as possible. The later a potential problem is dealt with, the more intractable it becomes. The case of Timable is the best exemplification that a proactive approach and a reactive one are worlds apart in terms of service quality. When UDomain was commissioned to render services to Timable, we were determined not to offer imprecise palliative solutions. We were there to not only treat the symptoms but also get to the core of the problems as well as offering advice on how to avoid the causes of undesirable scenarios.
Client’s long-term benefits prevail over our short-term revenues
The case of Timable could have been easily addressed from a technical point of view, but we decided to go for the resource-consuming, all-round solutions rather than some quick fixes. Possessing 10G local bandwidth, 1.5G overseas bandwidth and a costly cloud farm of our own, we could have simply offered additional bandwidth that Timable needed and made money out of this. The scale of our infrastructure is unrivalled in the market and we are confident that client will be satisfied with our quality services. Yet, for the best interest of client in the long run, we were eager to take a step further to identify the root problem that client was encountering. We then came to a conclusion that was apparently too indirect and irrational: Timable should really focus on site optimisation for better user experience and less demand for bandwidth. This recommendation might look ridiculous to other short-sighted industry players since reduced bandwidth consumption would result in reduced profits. We are not on the same page here. An industry leader who takes the motto of “customers come first” seriously, UDomain stands firm on putting clients’ interests front and center. Our consistent goal is to become a visionary, trusted partner of our clients instead of an imprudent supplier who only values short-term revenue generation. Creating win-win situations is our key to success.
Take action before IT problems surface
Timable has once suffered the pain of getting no support when needed most. Upon switching to UDomain’s services that come with 24-hour phone technical support, everyone at its end can truly enjoy peace of mind. Sam, the spokesperson of Timable, shared his experience and said, “UDomain dedicates professional technicians to continuously monitor our server and network traffic. In case of emergency, they always jump in to offer the best possible assistance and solutions as if they were our internal IT staff.” In fact, apart from monitoring the overall status of servers on behalf of our clients, we keep a close eye on exactly how the server resources are being deployed. This allows us to predict the outbreak of potential problems and to take preventive measures. While we attempt to alert clients to foreseen risks, our experienced technicians will at the same time make every effort to get things resolved right away.
We play the role of clients’ in-house IT team
Sam continued, “In case of hackers intruding our website or Apache not running properly, UDomain will take all necessary remedial actions at once. If the entire server is down, they will take full responsibility to restore it on our behalf. UDomain’s service is well worth it. Small and medium enterprises like us may not be able to afford an in-house IT team. Still, we can enjoy such professional outsourced services at a reasonable price level. We can then save the time and effort spent on server maintenance and focus on driving business growth.”
Key Takeaways
As a Chinese proverb goes, one must sharpen his tools in order to get his jobs well done. Information technology is unquestionably one of the most powerful tools for any enterprises to succeed in today’s competitive business world. One of the key moves setting winning companies apart is employing a reliable IT service provider who delivers real-person technical support round the clock. Yet, identifying a suitable candidate is not at all an easy job. “Customers come first” is a cliché which is easier said than done. When those incompetent service providers are struggling for survival, the urge to make fast money often overrides the interests of their customers. If you are looking for a truly reliable partner to work with, be sure to reference the experiences and comments of other users so as to understand the vision and work style of the individual service providers available in the market.
